Zero's Reversal
by MySadistChibi
Summary: We all know the 'Louise summons X' stories. But what would Louise do when SHE was summoned to be a familiar, in a certain world they call Earth, with no kings and with mages that make no sense, while having nothing but her own name, and a certain Japanese guy as a master?
1. The Zero is a Familiar

_**Well, **_

_**I don't own Zero no Tsukaima and blah blah. **_

_**I still don't understand why should I add this matter, since it's FANFICTION, so yeah, of course I don't own the story. (The owner is dead, people...) But geez, I don't like putting stuff at the beginning, cause no one reads, so yeah. If you read this, you didn't have to, just go to the story already! **_

* * *

_**Zero's Reversal**_

_**Chapter 01**_

_**The Zero is a Familiar!**_

* * *

'_The time has come...' _

Louise opened her eyes sleepily, but the thought still assaulted her mind. While getting off bed, she rubbed her eyes and walked towards her dresser slowly.

'_Tomorrow I'll summon a familiar...' _That was her chance of course. But only if she summoned something amazing. If she summoned a pathetic thing, nothing would change.

Noticing her thoughts, Louise blinked in confusion and looked at herself in the mirror. She started brushing her long pink hair.

She had barely started the day and was already being pessimistic. That wasn't normal. She usually took a while to start with the mental rant about her failures.

"..." Having finished brushing her hair, the young mage sighed. She stood up and got dressed, ready for the day. Another day. The _final_ day.

"No! I am a Valliére! The daughter of a duke! I _will_ succeed! I _will_ summon the best familiar this academy has ever seen!" Nodding to herself and trying to hold onto that confidence, she proudly walked out and towards the dining hall.

'_This will be the day I've waited for!'_

* * *

Now where was that confidence…?

Louise was back on her bed. Basically, back to where she'd started that day.

The day had gone horribly wrong. First class, and she already blew everything up. '_Again!_' Again she got isolated from everyone as punishment, and then _Kirche von Zerbst_, her most hated enemy, just _had_ to make things even worse.

"_I'll summon the best, most beautiful familiar, better than the three of you combined!" _

She remembered what she said, and regretted deeply. She's been failing with every spell since always, and how in the world could she summon something worthy? Just because she really wanted to?

Louise stood up and walked towards her window, looking at the shinning moons illuminating the night sky.

"I've prayed for this my whole life... I just wanted to cast real magic, just that! And I never received anything, no spell, no answer, no guidance!" She sighed, having decided what she wanted. "Please, just a signal, just one! Please give an answer, Founder!"

She knew that neither God nor his prophet would answer to a mere noble like her, but it was just so difficult! She needed to know what she was doing here! Why was she there if she couldn't perform magic correctly?

Not existing was better than living with such disgrace.

And as she expected, no answer came. Just silence. Louise bowed her head, and just as quickly, prayed for forgiveness, for she had just yelled at the heavens.

Once finished, Louise decided that what she _needed_ was a good night of sleep. But first, a change of clothes…

Unexpectedly, once she turned around, a bright, greed portal greeted her. Louise almost shrieked in surprise and stepped back.

"What…? A portal?" Louise quickly looked back at the moons. Was this an answer? A signal?

…_A punishment?_

Back at the portal, she stepped closer, inspecting it. She's never even seen a real portal, just read about them. Almost legendary, portals were used by the founder to go to different places instantly, no need to actual travel.

She avoided the delusion that the Founder was calling her somewhere, but how could she simply ignore such thing?! No mage could create portals! It _must_ be important.

Walking around it, it didn't seem to move, but it looked directed at her, no matter where she was in the room. Grabbing her wand on the table, Louise tugged it under her skirt and approached the portal.

The magic felt strong, but… _different_. It didn't feel like anything she could recognize. Not her magic, whatever that was. Not warm like fire, nor humid like water or cold like wind or even thick like earth.

'_What then… Void?'_ She scoffed and finally, with a burst of courage, she poked it. If felt… shifty. Strange enough, but once she tried to pull her finger back… it was stuck.

"Eh…?" She couldn't pull back, in fact, the portal was pulling her _in_. "What?! Wait! No! Let go!" It wasn't working! It wasn't _working_! She didn't have enough strength to pull herself back, and now her entire arm was inside and it was _just getting worse!_

She couldn't keep that up anymore. Trying to grab her wand and make it explode was her best option, but when she realized, she was gone! Inside the damn thing and couldn't see the portal anymore and it was so, _so_ dark!

"What is this place?!" She screamed at the nothingness of the dark that surrounded her. She was scared and she couldn't deny such feeling!

Was this actually a punishment for yelling at the heavens?! But she didn't mean any offence!

Louise shut her eyes to avoid crying. Then there was white... So bright that she couldn't see a thing and that only increased her panic when she felt like she was falling. Falling very fast actually, but more importantly, she felt… snow?

There was snow as she fell, and it was so very cold…

But not as cold as the darkness that engulfed her once again, probably because she finally hit the ground.

* * *

Chatter.

She heard voices.

'_I'm not dead?' _Louise opened her eyes, looking at a clouded sky. White filled with very smooth snow falling. She could barely see it. The floor was extremely cold and hard. Around her, she could see she was surrounded by buildings and walls. The architecture looked strange, too bland and white, but not like commoner housing, just... _different_.

Sitting up, she noticed she was in a wide open space. Louise looked around, spotting several people around her. _'Commoners?!' _She was about to yell with the indignity of being stared at like she was-

Wait, some of them had wands on their hands, and familiars too! They were mages, not commoners!

But where was she then? They looked like students, all wearing the same clothes like uniforms, but not like _her_ uniform. While she wore a white shirt, black skirt and her nobility cloak, they wore strange trench coats. Girls' were with white and long enough to cover the skirt area, with black stockings for their legs and boots with little variety in color, while guys' wore black and shorter trench coats with pants, also with little variety in color, with usually black shoes. Some even wore scarfs, but all of those were blue.

She couldn't recognize the uniform at all. There were no other magic academies! But worse yet, she couldn't recognize the _language_! She couldn't understand their gibberish!

Louise couldn't take that. How? This was probably some barbarian land no one cared about! But what was she doing here again?! Her thoughts were a real mess, but they were interrupted when she heard a foot tapping near her.

Looking around, she spotted a boy her age who looked very impatiently at her. He wore the same uniform, very dark hair, blue eyes, and the skin tone looked different than either Tristain's tone, or Germanian's tone. All of them did in fact. The unusual black hair and common brown hair seemed normal among them.

Louise stood up, keeping her proud and aristocratic look, and stared back.

He merely crossed his arms and frowned, only looking around when some people snickered, before looking at her again.

Their staring contest was broken in a few seconds when Louise spoke. "I demand to know where I am, sir." She spoke calmly. They didn't need her respect; she doubted they could be greater than her Valliére name. She would only give them the education of a refined lady.

The boy pursed his lips and looked at the woman who looked old enough to be the teacher while gesturing at Louise, as if she had just proven a point for him. Louise arched an eyebrow and looked at the woman, who she knew couldn't be a noble for she was wearing _pants_, not very lady-like, or noble-like for that matter. Surprisingly, the woman shook her head with authority and the boy bit back an angry response before looking at her sharply.

"_Anata no hiza no ue!" _She couldn't understand a thing.

"What language are you speaking, you mongrel!?" She couldn't believe this! How could they possibly invent another language!? And why?!

Again some more snickering and comments, and the boy barked back at them, and then showing his immense lack of patience with her, pointed a wand at her legs. _"Prolapsio!" _

Louise bit back a un-lady-like scream as an immense pain filled her legs and she promptly fell on the floor. Some people gasped and he only yelled at them again. "W-what did you-?!" She stopped when the wand was pointed at her forehead. This looked like…

"_Kono seizon, denryoku ni yori hikidasa reru, wa ware no tsukaima, to o okonau ware no hitsuyō ga deska." _With a poke on her forehead, Louise was speechless.

This looked exactly like a familiar summoning! Exactly like it! She wanted to get out of there right then, maybe give this bastard mage a good explosion before doing so.

That was way too much for her to take in, and before she realized, his lips were already on hers. When he pulled away, he didn't look happy.

He stood up before she could try to strangle him. Her face was red as a tomato, while the pain on her legs disappeared slowly. "Wha-wha-wah-wa…" No words came out at all. She just couldn't! She was blown away by all of this! It just couldn't be!

She was Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliére! She COULDN'T become someone's familiar! She was panicking before the minute was over, almost hyperventilating.

'_This can't be! It can't be! No, no, no, no, NO!' _

At the same time, the teacher apparently dismissed everyone, and instead of flying away like normal mages, they just walked away with their familiars, including the teacher, who before leaving, gave the boy a pat on the back and spoke some words that felt like a consolation.

The two were the only ones left. Louise quietly panicking and the boy mumbling angrily to himself, as if saying '_Why me, of all people?' _

"I should be the one saying that…!" Louise mumbled with rage. But in her angry and panicked state, failed to realize that something was burning. Or better, her hand… was burning…

The air was suddenly stuck in her lungs, the pains was getting more unbearable by each second. "Ow, ow!" She looked at her right hand. "F-familiar runes!? T-this- this c-can't be-!" She was about to cry in despair and pain, but everything was blurry and finally, after what was now the worst day of her life and hopefully just a nightmare, Louise the _Familiar_ passed out.

* * *

**Oh boy, what now…?! **

**Ok, Important here, I know you don't wanna, but come on, don't be lazy. **

**Soooo, it's been a _long_ time since I've written a fic, for those who remember me… because of **_**Ore no Sekai**_**… yeah, sorry. I totally lost my nerve with that fic, I seriously don't know what to do with it. **

**BUT for those who wanted to read the _story_, thank you, I hope you enjoyed. I actually enjoyed writing it, I believe that's the **_**main **__**key**_** for a good story, the writer needs to enjoy their work. (and they also need a build-in **_**Crap Detector**_** to know that what they're enjoying is not crap, but that's something we can talk about later.) **

**For those who do know me (Don't know who would, seriously, it's been a LONG time) also knows that this chapter is **_**short**_**, I usually write stuff with +3,000 words each chapter, but for this story, I'll try to write shorter stuff, so it can get easier to update, I'm a real slacker with long chapters. Let's hope this works. **

**P.S: For those who really don't know me (not surprising), you should know that I take my writing seriously. I don't put Japanese words in the middle of English dialogues, nor author notes. I constantly check my grammar, even after posting, and I wish for constructive criticism, you know, it helps. I do try to write something I consider readable, with smooth writing, in-character and with a solid plot, so I hope you, sweet fans of Zero no Tsukaima like myself, can enjoy this. **

**Also, I answer all reviews through PM, I'm willing to answer whatever question anyone might have. :3 **

**I'll start the next chapter once I get _one_ review, to know if this is worth something. If not then... well, next plot bunny we go! **


	2. Dealing with the Master

**Notes for reviewers at the end of the chapter! ;D I did keep my promises! Heh! **

* * *

_**Zero's Reversal**_

**Chapter 02**

_**Dealing with the Master**_

* * *

Louise just had the most horrible nightmare imaginable.

She was playing in the flower field with the princess. Oh how she missed her friend and those peaceful times where she had the honor of being her highness' playmate.

Her sister Cattleya was also there, sitting with her cute pets and with her sister Eleanor, who was looking at Louise with a certain envious but satisfied look and Louise _adored_ that.

And her parents. Oh her parents, looking at her so proudly, like she's never seen before. The look she wished to see on their faces since always. The look she would get once she finally completed a spell successfully, once she summoned a worthy familiar!

She never felt this happy!

But then everything just turned dark. The blue sky was gone, replaced by a dull gray. The princess, and her family disappeared. The flowers died, became _black_ and turned to _ashes!_ Little Louise saw those things and suddenly wanted to cry so badly, but she was startled when runes appeared below her, shining of the field of dead flowers.

Louise gasped in fright.

A big shadow loomed over her, a scary laugh echoed around her. Looking back, she saw a boy around her age, looking at her with a smile that could only be described as the devil's crocked smile.

Suddenly, Louise had _cat ears_ and a _tail_, and _meows_ were the only sounds she could produce! A leash was on her neck and it felt so tight that she couldn't breathe at all!

'_This can't be happening!' _The leach was pulled up and she was staring at his sadistic expression. She yelped in fear. "N-nya!"

"_You're my familiar now, **kitty cat**!"_

* * *

"Kya!" It was gone. The nightmare was gone as she woke up suddenly, breathing heavily. Closing her eyes and sighing in pure relief, Louise rubbed her face.

'_It was just a dream… And what a dream!' _Horrible indeed. More memories of that nightmare came to her and she smiled. Like she, a Valliére, would ever become someone's familiar.

Louise laughed softly and opened her eyes, expecting to find herself back in her room, to get ready to get off bed and change so she could prepare for the summoning ritual today.

"…" Her smile was petrified when realization came to her.

'..._Where is this place…?' _She looked around and panic spread through her head. "What…?!" This wasn't her room! _Not. her. room!_

But where then…? The place looked like nothing she was used to. The walls were smooth, like it was made by expensive and full of quality earth mages and painted with a pretty, spotless white that should only given to a royal castle's walls. The floor seemed to be of quality wood, so much that it looked polished enough to see her own blurry reflection on it.

The room wasn't big, smaller than her dorm actually, but a small hallway in front of her lead to three doors, one at the end and others at each side.

The light was being emanated from the ceiling, and it didn't look like fire at all! It looked too bright in fact, almost heavenly white. And the temperature was just _perfect_! Even thought it looked like there was snow outside! Maybe some sort of heat magic?

Not to mention there were several objects she couldn't name or recognize...

Louise sighed and stood up from what looked like an improvised bed, which consisted of a mattress on the floor and her cloak rolled up to serve as a pillow. Her shoes were also gone in fact.

She was in the middle of the room; On her right side was a couch that looked very simple, but the fabric felt different. Everything looked like it had a good quality actually. In front of the couch was a thin, black box that was on a low height table, which had openings where more strange objects were. Like a small living room. On her left, a bookcase, almost entirely filled with books, a desk and more objects she couldn't identify here and there, along with some papers and a few other books. Behind her, there were big windows, covering almost everything, and those were covered with curtains. Looks like it was dark outside.

Louise wanted to walk around and peek on those things, but despite being curious, this was still an unknown place. What if…

'_No. It _was_ a dream. There is no way-' _Her thoughts were interrupted once she spotted her right hand. Right there… _Right_. _There!_

Runes. Actual_ familiar runes_ staring right back at her. Mocking her!

Louise felt ready to cry now. It wasn't a dream! How was she going to explain this to her mother?! She couldn't! Her mother would dishonor her, and she would go into history as the failure of a mage who was summoned as a _familiar_!

Such shame, so much _shame_!

Maybe ending her life would be a better option, but not before…

She heard a door opening._ "Ah, kimi,"_ And _H__e_ was right there. This time not wearing any uniform, but only a blue and white coat with a white shirt and black pants.

"YOU!" She yelled. "How _could_ you, a low-class noble with no name, how dare you mark a Valliére as a- as _a_ _familiar, _of all things?!"

His surprise turned into annoyance as he rolled his eyes and sighed. _"Mendoksai ne…"_

"Speak Halkeginian already! What is your problem?! What kind of backwater land is this?! I'm actually inclined to believe there are lands beyond the continents we know _just_ to explain this outcast language-!"

The boy seemed to get fed up with her words. _"Mõ í!"_ She didn't hear him with her ranting while he walked towards the desk.

"-because it's just not possible that a place would actually-"

He opened a big white book, on a very strange angle and it looked pretty sturdy to actually hold that position, and he started typing on it while shaking his head, ignoring her words.

"-end up inventing a stupid language like those Germanian barbarians! Why can't you be a normal noble?! It would be so much easier to have you _hanged_ for doing such-!"

"_Aha!"_ The universal word for 'found it~!' He grabbed his wand and walked towards her. Only looking back at the strange book once to confirm something, then nodded and waited for her to finish her noisy yapping.

She didn't notice anything though. Louise was busy venting on every frustration she accumulated since she got there and her high-pitched ranting was getting on the boy's nerves.

"-really, is it so difficult?! Why you- Wait, what are you doing?!" She didn't forget the painful spell from before. Was he going to punish her like she was some sort of lowly familiar? "You wish!" Louise tried to grab her wand, only to notice _it wasn't there_! Looking back at him, he only smiled slyly. '_He took it!'_

Before anything could be said or done, he spoke. _"Vertere!" _And a _really _high-pitched noise assaulted _both_ of them.

"WHAT?!" Louise couldn't hear herself! She covered her ears in attempt to muffle the noise, but it only made it _worse!_ It. _was_. _so_. _**loud**_!

And the boy froze up with the pain the noise caused them, actually shaking to endure it and not squirm around and scream like his familiar.

The windows and other glass-like objects actually cracked with it, and the noise faded slowly, leaving a loud buzz on her head. She felt dizzy and ready to stumble on the floor. And so she did. Outside, she could _actually_ hear complaining despite the buzzing sound. People complaining, quite loudly.

It was like everyone was abused by the horrid sound.

The boy lowered his wand dizzily and released the breath he was holding, looked at the window, then back at her. "…Not as bad as I expected, but…"

"Just… _what_ was that…?" She managed to mumble.

He blinked at her. "Well, that's _one_ problem solved."

"Ah, I understood that!"

"You're a slow one…" He sat on the desk and massaged him temples. "I hope you're satisfied with the migraine you just gave me."

"S-satisfied?! You're the one who summoned me here!" _'Also the one who casted the damned spell!' _

"Yeah?" It was like he wasn't paying that much attention, preferring to nurse the headache he accused her of causing.

"SO! I'm a noble! How could you summon a noble as- as- as…!?"

"As a familiar… Geez you're loud. Stop it."

"You insolent little-!"

"I said _stop it_! And I don't care about your status. I did summon you as a familiar, but what can I do if the universe thought that giving me a weak little noble girl would be _funny_?!"

"Y-you should be honored with summoning a Valliére!"

"Because that's worth _so_ much, right…?" That was _dripping_ with rude sarcasm. "Besides, I never heard of that name."

"Uncultured little-"

"Seriously, what _year_ are you from…? You can't be from the 21th century…"

"What do you mean?"

He frowned in confusion. "Oh boy… Whatever, we'll discuss this later. First, I need a med for this headache, and also…" He walked past her and opened to curtains, revealing the cracked windows. "Man... not again..."

"What are you-" Louise froze.

The boy noticed her sudden silence and looked at her. "What?" But she wasn't looking at him. She was looking beyond the window. Arching a confused eyebrow, he looked back, not really seeing what spooked her. "What is it?"

"T-the- the…"

"The what...?"

"Moon…"

"Uh… What about it…?" He didn't see anything wrong apparently. But Louise was beyond shocked.

"You're starting to creep me out. You're not gonna turn into a _giant monkey_, are you? Because I _really_ can't handle that kind of shit right now!"

"There's only one!"

"…" And he stared at her like she had just grown a second head through her butt.

"Where's the other one?! And why is it white?!"

"What…? Oh! Of _course_! I get it now!" He suddenly realized something, and as if heavenly clarity had hit him, he sighed in relief and smiled calmly. "You're not from a different _time_, but a different _world_! That's good news! I don't have to worry about time paradoxes like that fella in Wisconsin!" And he started laughing joyfully.

What is he so happy and giggly about?! There was only one moon because apparently the other one exploded and disappeared-! But wait… Didn't he say 'another world'?

"What do you mean…? 'A different world'?"

"Oh, it's just like I said."

"There's no such thing as 'other worlds'!"

"Oh, for god's sake... I bet you think the world is _flat_ too."

"…"

"Do you?" He asked.

"It is!"

He nodded in both anger and amusement. Then turned to the window. "Fuck. Me. _Right_?! Isn't that right?!"

_What a rude language_! Louise gaped at his words. No noble would ever even _think_ with such indecent vocabulary! Hearing those words made her mind hurt.

Her 'master' face palmed and grumbled. Then with a swift wand movement, the windows and everything else was quickly fixed. Louise was a little too 'off' to question how he did it with no incantation. Could it be that she was really in a completely different world? But then, how would she ever get home?! She doubted this guy could create portals!

He briskly walked towards his room, mumbling. "I _really_ don't have to deal with this right now… I want to sleep...!"

Louise blinked. What was he going to do? She had no wand! How could she defend against whatever he wanted to do? But she had to keep her dignity! She wasn't going to act as his familiar even if he _tortured_ her! She was no one's servant! Her pride wouldn't allow such things!

Once he came back, he was carrying a basket of clothes that he placed on the desk. "Wash these." He stated simply.

She gaped again, and yelled angrily. "N-no! I'm no servant!"

He nodded. Completely dismissing her words. "You _were_ no servant. Now you are. You're not staying here for _free_, you know?"

"Who said I'm going to stay here?"

"Oh, you wanna leave? Heh."

"What's so funny?"

"Did you forget that you're in a different _world_? You know what that means? Your nobility title is useless here. You have no money, no scholar degree, no wand, no family ties, and no roof of your own. If you leave, where would you go exactly?"

"I'll find something."

"Yeah, a box in an alley maybe."

"I can be on my own! I'm a-"

"Noble. _Exactly_. And _that's_ why you won't survive out there. You're pampered, and lived with comfort, I'm pretty sure you did at least. Out there, you'll be scrambling for food in trashcans like a street cat in less than two days. Or maybe dead because, you know, winter and all."

"I'm…" Louise was confused. She didn't know what to do! She just couldn't deal with all of this! She looked at the basket.

He sighed and looked at her with some new found sympathy. "Look, I'm… I'm not a bad person, okay? At least I _try_ not to be." He started calmly. "I _need_ a familiar, but I don't want you to be just an useless mouth to feed or a waste of space. If you stop acting rebellious and _try_ to be more useful, I can get you a comfortable bed, good meals, and even some money to spend with yourself." He sighed, looked around and then back at her eyes. "And I _promise_ you, it won't be _that_ bad…"

She frowned softly. She wasn't stupid. There wasn't enough arrogance in her to make her believe she was above everything. she knew that. Spending her whole life failing made sure she wouldn't have confidence to think so highly of her own abilities. And he looked sincere. Or maybe he was just tired of arguing. She felt her cheeks getting red, and sighed. Maybe just for now. They're both nobles, they might as well help each other. _'And he _will _help me.'_ She would make sure of it. "Where's the washing site…?"

"Laundry room." He corrected her. "It's indoors. Last door, out on the hallway, to the left. You should reach it at some point."

Grumbling, Louise grabbed the basked and followed the instructions.

"Ah, wait." She stopped and asked. "I- I don't know your name…"

"Oh yeah, with all that ruckus you made, I forgot. I'm Hiraga Saito. You are...?"

"I am Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliére." She couldn't help but sound prideful when saying her name.

"Hmm…Yeah… No need for such long names. I'll let you keep the _Louise_ though. For the sake of our deal." He smiled pleasantly, and Louise gaped while he just sat behind the desk and stretched his arms. "What are you standing there for?" And went back to typing on his weird book thing.

Louise had enough to deal with. She didn't want to go back to arguing, and her mind simply decided to ignore that _completely_. Turning around, she found her shoes, put them on and left the room. Trying to avoid thinking about it.

_This is hell... And he's the devil..._

* * *

**Oh the irony... **

**Ok, so this didn't take too long. It's like a setup chapter! I was surprised with the reviews though. Seriously, I didn't expect much from this!**

**Since some reviews were guests, I'll answer them through the chapters when I post them!**

**For Phantom Wolf: I'm really glad you liked it! I didn't think it would be okay, since no one has written something like this, so there was a chance this could be because it wasn't a good idea at all. Heh. Hopefully, I can keep writing something original.**

**For my Guest: I'm happy to know you find this refreshing! :D I'll try to keep a steady update schedule! **

**For Gamer: First time right? I got fed up from waiting for someone to write this particular idea, so I decided to write one myself, hehe, maybe encourage people to do something similar? Oh well. About those questions, most of those are a secret! But be sure Louise will be surprised with what awaits her. :D**

**And finally to LeoGear: Looks like we're both One Piece fans! Kampai to you! ;) Anyway, I did my best to keep the Saito character as close as possible from what he would be, have he been born in a prestigious magic family. Here, Louise showed him a terribly bratty attitude concerning her duty as a familiar, and be sure that he understands why. That doesn't make it acceptable. He didn't want her to run off and wasn't willing to put her on a leash like Louise had done in canon, so he had to act more strictly than normal. God knows what kind of trouble a pampered little mage could get into in Tokyo. D: Hope that didn't sound too OOC for this his character in this situation.**

**Well, guess this is it. Again, once I get a response, I'll start writing the next one. Thank you for reading! Seriously! You're all great people! **


	3. The Nail and the Hammer

_**Damn, it's late. And I feel the stress already. But okay. This probably sucks (By my standards! D:) but my psychiatrist says I should post it anyway, for the sake of my happiness! :D Otherwise I'll never get anything done!**_

* * *

_**Zero's Reversal**_

**Chapter 03**

_**The Nail and the Hammer**_

* * *

'_Now how does it work…?' _

Louise was feeling lost. But worse yet, she was feeling humiliated.

Not because she was a familiar now.

Not because she was put to do a commoner task.

'_No, no. That's not the matter right now.' _She thought while she paced from one side to another in front of a certain dreaded object she couldn't get to work.

"_She looks _so_ lost!" _And some muttering and snickering not too far from her.

"Need some help there, miss?" That sounded mocking…

Humiliating. "Not from the likes of you!" She yelled back at him. Really, she could figure this out! No need for help!

"Well!" Fake indignation. Like she wasn't even worth of their anger. She was sure of it.

The _magic washing box_ wasn't really helping neither. She _saw_ them use it. Just pouring their clothes in and… _waiting_. That's all they did, but no! It wouldn't work for her at all! It didn't _want_ to work for a _familiar_, that's all!

She felt angry that _He_ even dared to give her such a task! Seething, Louise let herself go into her imagination. Ah, if she was his master instead, she would've made him wash her clothes, dress her, bring her food, be her slave and treat him like a dog with much, _much_ enthusiasm! She could see it so clearly~!

But she couldn't favor her dreamy imagination. Her predicament with him was real. And so was this problem with the damned box.

In the mid of her attempts, she caught the few students' attention, all of them present there, three to be exact, and now they were watching her like she was some sort of petty jersey! This was disgraceful. They should be licking her boots instead of laughing. She was supposed to be superior!

She kicked it, just for the annoyance it caused her.

"_My god, that's so impractical…" _She heard. Looking back, she spotted them watching her with amusement. One of them had a small black box in hands, almost pointing at her direction, but she didn't care all that much.

Very soon, she heard a beep noise, and one of them stated he was done there, and they followed him while he picked his now clean clothes from the box, all chatting so casually.

She felt like stamping her foot and yelling, but maybe just giving up would be a way out of doing it. She was way above this though. She shouldn't give up like this.

In the middle of her dilemma, a servant walked past her. She knew by the clothing, the age and the slightly tired look. And he did the same thing they did!

'_But if he's a servant, how can he use a magical item?!' _It's not fair! Here she was fussing with this thing for almost an hour, while being laughed at! It can't, it shouldn't work like this!

He was a _commoner,_ so it was okay to get him to do it for her without looking stupid.

Louise sighed with some relief. Everything would be fine now.

* * *

It's been an hour now.

Louise has been out for some time, and for a second, Saito wondered if she ran away anyway. _'Maybe I was too harsh on her…?' _Saito almost scoffed at the thought. He sighed and dropped the pen he's been using to take notes while he studied. She didn't look stupid enough. He _knew_ his words got through her.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back on the chair while spinning on it slowly, just staring at the ceiling in thought. _'But just how in the world am I supposed to take care of her then?' _Human summons weren't that uncommon, there were some recorded cases, but still not enough to be helpful online (just a bunch of people guessing and playing around), or even in a normal library for that matter.

But he knew a thing or two. First of all, humans weren't like normal familiars. Obviously. They need to be _reasoned_ with. And that's simply because their minds cannot be bound to you like a normal familiar. A human is too smart and self-conscious for long-term mind control. Any decent magic student knows that.

Going toe to toe with that motor-mouth was out of question too.

A big no-no.

And he knew it would annoy him more than necessary. That never-ending rant he went through after dinner was impossible to deal with and trying silence spells were way too risky.

The translation spell was a lucky shot, but also risky, seeing as it didn't completely _destroy_ her ability to talk like he expected. He didn't think he could have another lucky shot this week, so he should just stay put for a little while. This was causing him so much stress. He felt tempted to just leave it be and go watch some ecchi anime-

'_No!__ Focus! I'll just look for a specific book or whatever, then a bath, and then get some much deserved sleep.'_ Looking back at the digital clock on his desk, it read _8:32 p.m_, he still had time. Curfew started at 10'o clock and Louise _should_ be back by then. _No_ _distractions until then._

Hopefully, she would go to sleep too. Because he didn't want to deal with her!

But he would have to deal with her sooner or later. The problem is that she would stick out in a crowd of millions. That obnoxious hair color and that attitude would turn heads around for sure. That was _not_ _good_.

So first of all, he would have to teach her some proper Japanese manners, just then he would think about that hair.

Speaking of manners, he was sure that she would stomp back in his room without taking her shoes off. Not to mention she was rudely unwilling to accept his help and thought way too highly of herself. Not very lady-like, at least not in Japan.

It's true that he was a little… cold towards her. And she was a classical aristocrat for the looks of it, therefore wouldn't listen to him so easily. But that's okay, certainly okay. She was a familiar before a noble now, so she had to learn about what she can and what she _cannot_ do. If she didn't want to act accordingly, that's fine too. It was his responsibility to force her to do so. For the sake of harmony.

It's just as they say… _The nail that sticks out, needs to be hammered down._

'_Oh great. I'm starting to sound like my brother.' _

Suddenly he heard a ringing sound. His phone apparently. He didn't really look who it was before answering. "Hello?"

"_Hey dude? Wazzup," _That voice...One of his friends, with whom he would buddy up from time to time in class. Why was he calling him?

"Hey. Why you calling right now?" It was almost 9, everyone should be going to sleep soon.

"_Well, you see, I'm at the Laundry room… and…" _

"Huh?" Where Louise was, right? Maybe he could ask him.

"_You see, we found you familiar here, she was having some trouble with the washing machine,'_

Oh. Damn it! He completely forgot that _maybe_ she didn't know how to use these things. That was careless and ridiculously stupid too! He face palmed in embarrassment. "How long has she been there…?"

"_Eh, a while, but that's not the problem really…" _He sounded creeped out somehow. What in the world happened there then?

* * *

"Excuse me…?" The commoner sounded… _offended_ by her calling him a commoner. Louise didn't really understand why.

But what now? Why didn't she expect it anyway?! Everything's weird in that world! They were speaking a different language! Their spells were horribly painful for some reason! And now…

Now a _commoner_ was talking back at her?!

Could this place be any more senseless?

A quick glance at the boys from before, just two now, she noticed one was still watching with morbid fascination, and the other was talking to himself…

"_Eh, a while, but that's not the problem, really…"_ And he looked back at her, then at the commoner and winced.

She huffed and looked back at the commoner who was now tapping his foot in frustration.

"Why are you even talking back at me?" She asked nonchalantly. Really, why?

"_Yeah, she called him the… the _C word_- yes! And now that guy from 3 B is really persistent in filming and posting this!" _

C word? Commoner? What, now the mages were afraid of the commoners?! This was a joke, it had to be.

"_I don't think so, and I know the repercussion this will get, don't yell at me!"_

The commoner in question took a few seconds to process her words before he finally said something. "_Really_, who the hell do you think you are? I can sue you for this shit you know?"

Yeah? How rude. She didn't believe in the threat. "Why aren't you doing as I told you?! Commoners are supposed to obey, so do so already!" She was losing her cool by now, and for some reason, the two students were gaping at her.

"_Oh crap…" _She heard again.

"Oh, hell no! I'm not paid to deal with this crap! You can clean your own stuff, you filthy little _harpy_!" He literally pushed her out of the way, Louise was astonished.

If she had her wand…!

While he walked away, the other two students looked at each other, then back at her. That was shock in their faces for sure. "What are you staring at? And why are you even _afraid_ of a commoner of all things?! Aren't you nobles?!"

One of them frowned. "Not cool bro…" And walked away.

What…

The other one just looked sideways with a nervous look. "Oh, you wanna talk to her…? …Okay." And shakily gave her that small black box. "H-Hiraga-san wants to talk to you real quick…" Talk? So, a magical item that lets you talk with someone far away? Now _that's_ useful. But what does _he_ want with her now?

The guy in front of her made a motion to use it near her ear. She copied him. "Hello…?" Still a little uncertain about how it worked.

"_You can come back here, now." _He sounded strangely calm.

"But-" She didn't finish the task he gave her yet.

"… _RIGHT NOW! And you better obey, or I'll go after you and drag you back myself!" _Oh. Silence followed the loud order.

Her eyes were wide with the sudden change of attitude.

While that, the owner of the magic massage box looked at her with a certain level of _pity_, before talking it back from her frozen hands and walking away. "Oh my..."

She never noticed. Louise only blinked. '_What did I do wrong?!'_

* * *

**My god, this sucks! I really couldn't write this in another way, and man, I'm not satisfied! Since I'm updating so quickly, I decided it could be short, but man, this is the shortest I've ever got! And I'm not happy...**

**Anyway, I'll try to update quickly again, but this is my best for this part, it's like I can't avoid working on a setup any quicker than this Besides, for anyone who hasn't noticed yet, I really CAN'T avoid using OCs, it's impossible with this story, but I will NEVER write with an OC's POV or even focus too much on them,** **it will be either Louise's or Saito's POV. So no worries. **

**I answer all reviews through PM, but I got one Guest, and this little buddy speaks Spanish! Ramox.0: I'm _terrible_ with Spanish even though I speak Portuguese, but I understand and I feel happy that you think that way! :D (We live nearby by the way!) I'll try to update quickly!**


	4. Where are your manners?

_**Zero's Reversal**_

**Chapter 04**

_**Where are your manners?**_

* * *

"Just _what_ were you thinking?"

As much as calling him 'master' usually left a bad taste on her mouth, she couldn't classify him with another term unfortunately. That's what he was after all. Not that she would admit anyway.

And currently, he felt the need to give her a _lecture_.

"That commoner is the one who yelled back at me!"

"Do _not_ raise you voice. It's late, and there are other rooms near us. With other people trying to sleep."

She was forced to sit in a strange position, her knees bent and legs practically under her whole weight. The position was hurting her calves _greatly_, and she felt the need to shift position every now and then, while he paced in front of her.

Not unlike her mother, but really, not _that much_ like her mother. He just wasn't at her level.

It wasn't bad until he started mumbling to himself while pacing. "Really, I shouldn't have sent you out like this… It was stupid, thinking that I could get you to do stuff so I could rest. I was lazy! I should've just gone and done what I was supposed to, and now I'm dealing with the consequences, just obvious…" He stopped and looked at her, then started pacing again. "And by the way, I don't care what that man did. You don't call other people 'commoners'!" It was like he was forcing his voice down. Making some effort to not yell at her. "It's beyond insulting; it's rude, it's socially unacceptable!"

Louise frowned. "How is it-!?" She was about to yell, but Saito glared at her. So she grumbled and started again. "How is it socially unacceptable? Why is everyone acting like they are on equal grounds with the mages? It's such a calumny!" She was hissing at this point.

Saito arched an eyebrow in confusion, and then frowned, looking around suspiciously before giving her a small smile. Not a kind or understanding smile, no no, not that one at all. "How old are you?"

Louise glared. Where is he going with this? "I'm 16 years old." She puffed her chest to show whatever dignity she had left.

"Oh good..." He started nonchalantly. Folding his hands behind him. "It seems you're not too old to have _manners_ shoved down your throat through verbal and menial lessons." Her eyes widened. "Go to sleep. We'll start this tomorrow."

_Lessons_ is just another way of saying _punishments_! Louise steamed with anger. Once he was gone into his side of the room, she immediately changed her position, massaging her sore calves.

"What. an. infuriating. man!" Mumbling angrily, she laid down on her mattress, the only comfortable place she could afford to have right then, and covered herself. From another perspective, it would look like she was sulking.

Louise was past the point of wishing this could be only a nightmare. Her mother always taught her to adapt quickly, and so she would. While analyzing her situation, she noticed it was more ridiculous than she thought.

She was summoned to another world to be a familiar.

She was painfully attacked by the one who proclaimed himself her master. Twice.

She was forced to do a commoner's task.

She was _affronted_ by a commoner!

She was_ gaped_ at!

_Yelled at! _

_And left to sleep on the __**floor**__! _

This was beyond adapting. This was _survival_.

A loud _growl_ was heard. She was also very hungry.

In the dark, Louise looked at the ceiling angrily, and then sniffed. Before covering herself completely.

And so, Louise's first day was finally _over_.

* * *

"Wake up." She heard. Louise mumbled incomprehensibly. Always drowsy in the mornings, but in her slow mind, she recognized the voice.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Yes, _him_. He sounded collected though. Sitting up quickly to glare at him, she noticed that indeed, he looked less angry.

She still didn't falter with the glare though.

"Well, aren't you so full of sunshine…" He mumbled. "_Anyway_, I left you sleeping for an extra half-hour so I could do what _you _didn't yesterday. Now it's time for breakfast though, so it's also your chance to learn how to eat properly."

"Eat properly?! Do you think I'm some kind of uneducated com-?"

"What's that? I didn't quite _hear_ you."

"I- I know how to eat properly!"

"I'm pretty sure you don't." He shook his head and motioned her to follow him. Oh, she would show him! She was educated by the best tutors! She had the best education any noble could get! She could easily be the example of a perfect educated aristocrat and would make all of them look like buffoons while she's at it.

But since it was breakfast, and she was absolutely starving, she would also enjoy it, and take her time to ask a couple of questions.

* * *

Louise found out that the place she was currently living on _could_ actually get weirder than she thought.

Surprisingly, the students sleeping quarters weren't necessarily inside the school. Those were built _around_ it. Circling the whole place were the dormitories with a square pattern, while in the middle was the actual academy. The whole place could be bigger than her school, but she couldn't be sure. There were more people walking inside with them. All of them in uniforms just like the day before.

The day was not as cold as the day before. But Louise still felt the freezing air with only her white vest, and Saito apparently had the decency of walking faster towards the entrance.

There was snow on the floor, and the trees around the area lost their leaves, leaving a pretty dead look. But even with that, the scenery looked naturally beautiful. The building in front of her was actually pretty, simple, if not really nice.

There seemed to be more floors than her academy and all the windows were big. The walls were painted with brilliant with blue details on the windows and doors, and the place smelled like nature of the best kind. Fresh snow and wood. It was like the headmaster of this place had a cleaning fetish. Unlike her perverted headmaster…

Before passing by the entrance, Saito stopped by a board on the wall beside the door, with papers held on it by pins. He read it for a few seconds, then looked at her, looking thoughtful.

Louise frowned when he shook his head lightly, before dragging her inside. She didn't like how he kept his thoughts to himself, mainly when it could have something to do with her. But she would leave it aside until she could get some food.

Once inside, Louise patted her shoulders in attempt to warm herself. It was much warmer inside and it was designed similarly to Saito's room.

Unlike her academy were they used marble and other rock like structures created by earth mages, this place used a lot of expensive looking wood on their floors and other areas.

"The shoes." Saito warned her absently when she was about to step on the wooden floor.

"Why are you people like this?" She questioned while taking her shoes off, looking at the other students doing the same, like it was perfectly normal. For Louise, it looked almost mental to take your shoes off _every time_ you walked into a place.

"Because there's dirt outside. If you don't take them off, you're bringing the dirt in. Simple."

"Just get someone to clean it then."

"You can't change tradition and culture with logic now can you?"

Saito opened one of the several little cabinets, there were rows of them, and put his shoes in, along with hers, like a lot of other students were doing. Louise looked around them. She couldn't identify a class difference. Most of them wore fine wool blouses under their coats, all of them light blue, on top of white shirts, like hers, with most skirts and pants being black. Most looked her age too, rarely seeing someone younger or older than the rest.

Although, Louise couldn't get over the fact that almost everyone had a pretty common look. But then again, this was another world.

"Hey, Louise." She heard. Looking to her side, she saw Saito with a pair of new white shoes with a red soles.

Louise blinked. "You take your own shoes off, so you can put new ones instead? What is wrong with you all…?"

"Would you rather clean your shoes instead? Because no one's going to do this for you."

"You're all crazy…!" She whispered angrily and took them, putting the on quickly and walking past him. Where did he get these for her anyway?! Oh wait, '_They are very comfortable actually!'_

Looking at them, she tested a few steps back and forth, until she was stopped by stepping on a passerby's foot who was concentrated on reading.

Apparently, he wasn't looking ahead of him, and hissed with the sudden pain before pushing her off with one arm.

Louise, on reflex, looked back to demand an apology for pushing her, "Don't you-!" and was confronted with a menacing glare. Even though a part of her had a sudden urge to '_fight or run_', the feeling was dimmed with confusion with the part back and part green hair this crazy person seemed to find acceptable.

He closed the book sharply and glared until she finally felt uncomfortable and backed up. Then walked away like nothing happened.

Louise sighed tiredly. It was only morning, and she was already feeling affronted, annoyed and confused. It was just too much for her; everything changed so quickly…

"Oooh, she's so cute…!"

"Like a baby cherry blossom!"

Louise's head whipped to the source. Girls walking by her, cooing and giggling like she was a little kid. She was frozen for a few seconds, luckily giving enough time for them to walk away safely. Others near the cabinets, who unfortunately were close enough to hear the girls, nodded in agreement, and Louise shot them the most vehement glare she could produce.

For some reason, they found it _very_ _funny._ Like she would never be a threat.

"I hate you all…" She mumbled when Saito walked towards her.

"Yeah, we're all very lovely." Grabbing her arm, he guided an already resentful Louise inside.

* * *

Again, and again _and_ again…

She tried, she really did! "It's impossible! You can't use such thing for this!"

"C'mon, just… It's simple really, you're just being too… western."

"What is that even supposed to mean?"

Louise tried holding the sticks again, only for them to clap together on her hand. "How can you possibly eat with this failure of a tableware?! Were you too lazy to create some decent knives and forks instead of sticks?!"

"Chopsticks. And really, it's not that hard. You just won't listen... Oh whatever." Saito apparently gave up when he noticed that she really wasn't listening at all. Apparently he decided to leave her hungry until she decided to listen to him. It was clever, she admitted it. Because she would never eat with her own hands.

They were at the dining room. The place was large, but still smaller than her grand dining hall back at the academy, and not as classy looking. It felt almost 'homey' in fact. Surprisingly for her, she had to sit to eat. Not sit on a chair, sit on the floor. There were cushions that made things easier for her, but the position still hurt her. And strangely enough, she couldn't see one single student sitting differently.

There were several tables put orderly around the room, and more on the other floors, probably so the servants wouldn't have to walk so much to reach everyone. Louise felt like scoffing at the idea. _'Even with their structure they tend to respect the commoners…'_

They were both currently on the second floor, so Louise imagined Saito must be a second year student. Like her…

Louise sat on the corner, where she wouldn't have her back facing anyone. It was easier to keep an eye out. Most students seemed to be either chatting while eating, or studying while eating, so there was no problem.

After settling down, she was finally content with being able to eat! Until she was presented with a small bowl of rice.

"Just an appetizer. But seriously, don't expect a grand breakfast, _princess_,"

"Haha…"

"We're a humble country. And so are our meals. Now eat it up, you can get a little more after that if you want."

Now Louise was trying to eat, but couldn't use their damned tableware that apparently _were_ _not_ wands. Looking at Saito, who was eating calmly and swiftly while holding the bowl near his face. She tried to imitate the way he was holding the sticks. With no success.

A servant walked by and gave them tea to drink. Saito picked his cup and let her serve him, before giving her a curt bow and a soft smile. "Thank you very much."

The servant smiled too and moved to serve her. Louise didn't move to help her at all.

"Ahem." He gave Louise a look, that he expected her to do the same as he did.

She felt her eyebrows twitch and her shoulders tremble a bit, but she held up her cup and let herself be served, knowing that she would have to _thank _a servant for doing nothing but her job. She hesitated.

"I don't hear gratitude." He insisted with a sing-song tone.

Louise closed her eyes and forced a smile. "T-t-thank y-you very- very…" That was as disgraceful as it could get. Taking a peek, she noticed the servant rolled her eyes, and gave Saito a more formal bow before walking away.

"Now that was just embarrassing." And he shook his head in disappointment.

Grumbling, Louise looked downwards, but had an idea. Holding the chopstick, she pointed it at him like a wand. "What happens if I try to do this?" She asked, giving him her own sly smile.

"Hm?" He merely scoffed. "You can try. It'll turn to smithereens."

For some reason, she felt like trying a Fireball spell on him. Not that she thought it would work. And her gut feeling didn't like the idea very much. Apparently the thought of trying to burn someone to death wasn't her idea of fun.

But remembering last night's ordeal, and her recent humiliation made her feel like he deserved something at least. If the stick worked as a wand of course. Maybe a silence spell would make him think twice before lecturing her again.

"_Ansul, Bel, An…_" She muttered.

"That stuff you say, is it your magic wording?"

She ignored him, as much as he ignored her threat.

"Comply to my order-"

He dropped his bowl to the side in favor of watching her persistence. "Oh there's more? Why so wordy?"

"-by silence!" _It did it._ Not surprising for Louise, it _did_ blow up with smoke and noise! Not as strong as she was used to, probably because it really wasn't supposed to be used as a wand. The thick smoke covered a really smaller area around them.

She noticed the stick was indeed gone, nothing but ashes, like Saito said. Sighing, she waited for the coughing to stop. _'Still a zero…'_

Other people were also coughing, and the room seemed to have grown silent.

Once the smoke was gone, she could see Saito, and the other people that were sitting on the tables near him. She blinked in confusion.

Unlike the expression she was used to see in her classmates' faces after her explosive fails, this time, it was slightly different. There were no angry looks or even scared, just…

Utter bewilderment…!

The look of pure surprise and confusion on her master's face was absolutely rewarding, but still, she couldn't help but be confused herself.

"What…?" Was the only word she managed to mutter.

* * *

**Now just Louise would manage to blow everything up without a proper wand... Why is everyone so shocked, seriously?**

**So, I wanted to start writing something more frenetic, but I almost reached 3,000 words, and I'm trying not to write so much, to keep a steady update schedule. So I had to cut here, hope it wasn't _too_ slow paced, even thought my beta said it was fine! D: **

**Speaking of that, yes, I got a beta (About time right?), two actually, one helping me with grammar and story and stuff, and other helping me out with original characters and stuff, so a huge thanks to_ ChaosxPaladin_ for helping me with this chapter, and also _Envirosuit_ who helped me with some character development and also gave a few _really_ good ideas. **

**Anyway, I'll start writing the next chapter, after some rest really. I _really_ want to pick-up the pace here and into more plot, but I hate rushed stories. D: There's something amazing I want to do, but we'll have to wait, yes, me included. **

**Please review, tell me what you think it is! :D **


	5. Right or Wrong

**Alright! Why did I take so long? Well, I didn't want to use any excuses really, but I was hit with every author's nightmare for some reason, yea, AUTHOR BLOCK. Even while writing this I was having trouble. Not to mention my busy week at school. And also, my general procrastination combined with my recent interest in Bioshock Infinite is Not a good combination I tell ya! **

**So this is _not_ nearly as interesting as I wanted it to be, author block wouldn't let me think, but I absolutely _needed_ to write something before I lost the rhythm. So after posting SOMETHING, I should feel better with writing the next. :/**

* * *

_**Zero's Reversal**_

**Chapter 05**

_**Right or Wrong**_

* * *

"Alright…" Louise closed the book harshly. "Why couldn't that translation spell work with writings too?" She absolutely couldn't understand anything. No symbol looked readable.

Saito looked up from the book he was reading impatiently. "Because I don't know the formula. No one does actually." He said as if it was obvious.

They were both in a library; a huge and bright place full of easily accessible stands of books, for a tall person at least, with different floors visible from below and with desks and chairs spread around evenly.

"Don't you mean the _spell_?"

"Same thing really."

After the small fiasco in the dining room, no more than an hour before, Saito showed a lot of curiosity for how she had cast the 'spell'. It was an obvious failure and she couldn't understand his interest.

Even so, he looked really keen in reading for less than five minutes, before giving up and looking for information in another book.

"I really don't have time for this. I should be in class right now!"

"Then why are you trying so much?" 'So much' was a misunderstanding. He wasn't trying nearly as hard as Louise did at home. As if he was used to knowledge appearing ever so easily for him.

"Because I need to know what's up with your magic before Christmas…" He mumbled.

Louise blinked and looked at the ceiling. What's 'up'? Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought in favor of something else. "What is this 'crismas'?"

"Holiday…"

Different world, different Holy Days. Understandable. She was mildly curious though.

"Okay, okay, let's start with the basics of what we know."

20 minutes of him rambling about foreign concepts and Louise already felt like she's been studying advanced magic for five hours straight. And that was their current discussion. Why couldn't she use any element in her spells.

"-so since an explosion is combustion, should be like, derivative from fire right? I don't remember much about chemistry, yet you said it's not fire… Then since your magic has nothing from the Basic Square system-" Saito started, as if talking to himself rather than her.

"What is that?"

"Ah, basic elemental classification. You know, water, fire, earth and wind. That stuff."

"It should be a pentagon then! There are five elements, and Void is the fifth." Louise crossed her arms. "Although the fifth is a lost element."

"Lower your voice please and… wait, what? That doesn't make sense." He shook his head. "The whole system doesn't make sense if you have something completely unrelated-"

"Are saying that what the Founder Brimir taught us was faulty?! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Not really 'faulty'. It works for your people because you don't know any better." With that, he yawned and closed the book. He didn't look all that patient anymore.

"Don't- don't know any better…?! _We _are the wisest mages! What do you know? The only thing you people seem to know about is cleaning and writing gibberish!"

It looked like he took offense to that statement. "Okay then, if you're going to start assuming things about us, then I'll play that game too." To mock her, Saito started clapping lightly as if singing to a child, "You are all too stupid, you walk on mud all day, you're all religious fanatics, and you all smell like crap because no one baths more than once a week!" And started laughing at a very embarrassed Louise whose face resembled a tomato. "Did you like it?"

"Y-y-y-you…!" With her fist shaking and eyes menacingly shadowed by her hair, her hand was slowly creeping on the nearest object she could find, a book, so she could hit her 'master' across the head with all her strength. She moved quickly before he could even think about reacting. "YOU GIVE ME PROPER RESPECT ALREADY!"

Before being able to actually hit him, and Louise felt the weight suddenly disappearing from her hands.

She blinked confusedly.

Looking at her hands, Louise saw that yes, the book was gone. One look at Saito, and no, he was holding no wand, so he didn't do anything. Saito frowned at her, but looked to the left anyway. Louise followed. A fox was there, with her book in its mouth.

It stared at them for a few seconds before walking away.

"Was that…?" Fortunately, her anger faded, and she could think logically again.

"Someone's familiar? Eeh… I've seen that fox before-" Even though Louise didn't like laughing at other people's pain, she found quite satisfying when a book hit Saito's head with a loud 'thud'.

"Ouch…!" Looking back, he saw a smaller boy frowning at him. The fox sitting beside its master. "What are you doing?" Asked Saito.

"You're being loud." Said the smaller boy, with a soft youngish voice. He was the most 'uncommon' she had seen around the place. Very dark red hair, brown eyes, much more familiar to her in terms of skin…

"She's the one who was being loud…"

"You're the master."

"I should not be responsible when I can't control her!"

Louise watched them bicker, while the fox, that apparently was the boy's familiar, sat on the table, very close to her. Sighing, she patted it on the head.

It seemed content with the touch, and to her never ending surprise, it suddenly turned into a _weasel_, then quickly climbed her arm, behind her neck and snuggled on her shoulder.

"A-aah! What...!? S-Saito! The fox! I-it changed! It-" She couldn't get his attention. He was busy talking to his friend she assumed, and neither of them paid her any mind. The fox-now-turned-weasel didn't seem to mind her discomfort, but its claws dug on her shoulder...

"G-get off! Don't do that! Saito!"

This time, he was asking the smaller friend for something, clapping his palms together in a way that almost looked like begging. Still not listening.

The weasel rubbed its furry face on her neck. It would have been cute, but it suddenly bit her ear, making things even less tolerable. "S-SAITO!"

"What is it?!" His face lost the irritated look quickly, and became more surprised when he saw the girl wince with the small familiar on her shoulder, merely being friendly. "Uh… hey man…" Addressing his friend, who was also slightly surprised, Saito tapped his shoulder a few times. "Do something?"

Sighing heavily, the smaller mage only pressed his hand against his forehead. "Sionn, here." He called impatiently.

The weasel on Louise stopped quickly and turned to its master. Louise waited for it to get down from her, but instead, it _turned into a bird _and flew away, stopping on the boy's shoulder instead.

Louise tried to straighten her disheveled hair. "W-what is that?!" She asked loudly, but the kid made a small 'Shh' sound to her.

"It changed…!"

"Yeah? Never seen a _Kitsune _before?" Saito asked, looking somewhat amused.

"What is it?!"

He looked at the bird, then back at her. "It's a fox that can shape-shift. Isn't it obvious?"

No it wasn't! Louise was fascinated. She'd never seen this particular magical creature. "I've never seen one… Can it turn into anything?" She asked the smaller mage. He thought for a second and answered with a curt reply. "No big things."

"Don't really trust your own Japanese yet, do you?" Saito commented. "Now, about that info I asked you. Can you find it?"

He nodded confidently and walked towards the bookshelves ahead. The small familiar turning into a hummingbird and quickly scanned the higher shelves that the master couldn't reach.

Leaning back on her chair, Louise sighed while rubbing her neck. "Friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't talk much?"

Saito nodded absently. "Not native. Talking gets difficult you know? He reads a lot though."

Louise felt a small pang of nostalgia. She was reminded of a certain blue haired classmate who was also very quiet, always reading on her own. And who was friends with a very obnoxious enemy. While this quiet kid was friends with a _potential enemy._ She was starting to miss home. It has been only a day now.

Louise sighed and looked down, frowning. _'I definitely won't get used to this life…'_

Saito was looking to the other side, waiting for his bookworm friend to come back with what he needed. He gave Louise a quick look, but paused when he noticed the downcast expression on her face. He looked around for few seconds before speaking. "What's wrong?"

Louise raised her head quickly and huffed. "I'm perfectly fine, _thank you_." That was sarcastic. She definitely didn't want to show any kind of weakness in front of him, for his annoying personality.

She felt like he would want to use it against her. For sure.

"Waa… How _Tsundere_…"

"What does that mean?! Use actual words already!"

He only sighed and rolled his eyes. "You show your emotions so easily. I saw that look, really. Just tell me what it is. Maybe I can help you out." He looked sincere enough, but Louise didn't want his help. Not at all.

"Yes, sure. You caused the problem." Louise frowned at the offer and looked at him with a petulant gaze. "Send me back home. Now." Her tone was authoritative and unfazed.

Saito blinked at the order, but quickly become serious. Folding his hands on the table. "Can't." Was his curt answer, asserting his own authority to counter hers.

Louise scoffed. "Why not? Weren't you priding your world for having better magic before? I guess you're all just talk."

Saito frowned at her sarcastic tone. "I can't believe I'm doing this nonsense again…" He mumbled. "In case you don't know, before trying to create spells, we try to understand how nature does it first. We don't know how portals work entirely, and I bet my life that neither do you." Crossing his arms, he leaned back on his chair. "And also, you seem to be misunderstanding your position here. You have no right to _demand _things from me. I understand that you need time to adjust, but you're lucky I'm being way too tolerant with you. You owe me respect, and not the other way around."

Louise sat stunned for a few seconds.

"Still, if you really want _respect_, just earn it. For now, you're just a whiny brat." Saito seemed to think she needed some time to reflect and walked away, looking for his friend somewhere around the bookshelves.

Louise felt her lips starting to curve with the need to cry. But she swallowed her tears and replaced that feeling with anger instead.

She leaned on the table, resting her head on her arms. _'Why?! Why must I suffer?! Why must he act like… like he's superior?!' _A part of her mind was saying that he _was her _master, so he was indeed superior. But the idea didn't go through her head entirely yet.

She didn't want to accept it. She didn't _want_ to serve someone!

But instead she acted normally; like nothing happened. She kept her attitude the way it always was. To preserve that sense of normalcy. This much change wasn't welcome!

While he teased her in a friendly and annoying way she was not accustomed to, she felt the need to yell and hit him with something. As if he were her classmate.

But apparently, he did expect her to treat him as a superior. Otherwise, he wouldn't snap so easily with her demands or aggressive actions. She was no equal in his eyes.

Louise hit her head softly with her fists.

Being groomed her entire life to become a fitting noble. All her efforts, all the humiliation she endured. She hoped one day, all of that would pay off. But this is what she got instead.

'_All of that... for nothing…!' _But wait.

Louise raised her head quickly, hitting her closed fists on the table. That's right! She was a perfectly groomed noble. She deserved respect! But that's just it! This was another world. No one knew her family, her _mother_, so she couldn't _prove_ that she had honor with words alone! That she was worthy of respect as a Valliére! "He wants me to prove it then. Fine. I'll prove it to him! I'll prove that I deserve my respect, one way or another!"

* * *

Saito walked angrily around the shelves until he found himself in a more enclosed area inside the library. This one also had a few desks around, for any student who decided to have a study session.

He found his friend at one of the desks with two piles of books near him, one smaller than the other, obviously quite engrossed with the research. It was more obvious when he had his reading glasses on.

Saito sighed, pulled a chair and sat in front of him. "Am I glad no senior was around to see that drama…" He slumped on the table, hiding his face from view under his arms. He only heard a page being flipped in response.

He tried, really. But apparently, acting friendly wasn't cutting with her! The way she demanded things so casually, without a care in the world and with no respect, it absolutely pissed him off.

While he expected the minimal amount of respect, she was expecting to be treated as a 'noble'. But the problem was that she was no noble here. She didn't deserve any better than him, or even the people outside. They were born in this world, and studied and worked here. Studied and worked _very _hard.

She did nothing.

"Really, do you have any idea how irritating that was? She acts like she's been spoon-fed her whole life, did nothing to be deserving of that prestige and even now, expects me to simply obey her? No way. That is off-limits! Don't you agree with me? Hey, Finlay, listen..."

His friend lowered the book to pay attention to his rant. He looked back at the book once, before passing it to Saito, pointing to a particular text. "Read it." And then picked another one from the larger pile and started flipping the pages.

Most of the stuff in this library wasn't for them really. They were both second year students and this particular library was just for those who intended to study _serious magic_, and not the 'almost basic stuff' they learned in the first three years. Those first years walked hand to hand with high-school, but above that, from the fourth yeah up to _seventh year_, it was solo.

So an actual research on human familiars wasn't a big deal. Of course it happened. He would've looked for it online even, but he didn't trust the internet with this particular information.

While reading for a few minutes, he was surprised with the information he received. Apparently, for a long time now, a lot of people studying this were betting on the thought that all human familiars, with exception of those rare time-travel summons, were possibly from the same place.

It was very plausible. Earth had a connection with another world through the solar eclipse, but he never felt really interested in knowing why, or what they did with that knowledge.

They also drew conclusion from the fact that the ones they talked to were speaking the same language, spoke of similar magic and lands.

Whatever that connection was, it was bringing people from there to Earth through summons every generation or so.

To confirm facts, scientist had to wait for the events. And of course, with time, they had enough cases and facts to act like they were omniscient.

All of them were mages, and showed a particular kind of magic that didn't exist on Earth.

Along with an odd and somewhat pessimistic impression of their own power...

Normal spells weren't doable with them as it was oddly destructive when trying something out of their nature. It was simply 'destruction magic' with odd proprieties, and most of those mages had absolutely no idea how to work with it. And neither did the scientists within the magic field.

Saito ruffled his hair and reached his simple conclusion. "So, Louise is a mage with weird magic that no one knows about. Great."

"Keep reading."

Saito sighed, obviously tired and in need for a more relaxing activity, but did as suggested.

Strangely enough, he found out the nomenclature for said magic has never being mentioned by a familiar more than once. And that was possibly _six thousand years ago. _When recording history was kind of a problem. So no one was even entirely sure to begin with.

"Long time huh?" Said Saito.

Nodding, Finlay closed his book and picked another one, the bigger pile steadily getting smaller. "It could be 'Void magic'."

"Void magic? Wasn't that what Louise called a fifth lost element…?" He was listening? But never mind that, the thought of adding something else to the basic elemental system still bugged him.

"That world's mages probably have no idea what their own powers can do. Simply chanting so the environment can obey your commands is just the basics. Classifying those four- no, five things as connected elements is nonsense." Saito said absently.

As if they would be able to agree with Earth's more analytical view on magic. Where scientists in the magic field would never affirm that 'wind' was an element instead of common flow of air in large scales, and would always make sure absolutely everyone thought the same.

Elements are the 118 known elements already classified through the periodic table. Wind is not one of them and that's it.

Louise would never understand that solid view when her own is still too abstract. So how could they have truly powerful magic when they didn't even understand how it works mechanically and naturally? Absolute nonsense.

Although he did understand where they were coming from. It was the truth for them, even though 'truth' in the sciences was always temporary.

But he was diverting from the topic. If all the others summoned mages showed similar proprieties, why wouldn't they be considered the same as the first who possibly claimed it? Was Louise in that class too? Was exploding stuff a synonymous for their so called Void magic?

"Louise mentioned something, about a 'founder'? I'm guessing the first mage on their lands, maybe? And also, do you have any idea of who was that familiar? The one from six thousand years ago? Oh, could they have been the same person?"

Finlay thought for a few seconds, tapping his chin with a thoughtful look. He frowned and shook his head. "Too long ago. No naming records."

"Damn… I needed some real progress for our winter break event. Just this won't do." Saito closed the book. "Really... Maybe Louise could answer a couple of questions. Since all the summons seem to have the same pattern, it would be useful if she had a known affinity we could work with." He mused shortly and stood up, ready to go back to his room and get some sleep before heading to class.

He already risked skipping the first few classes. If he skipped more, things would get ugly for him. Finlay had authorization for doing actual research on these things and knew his way around better than Saito ever could.

But Saito felt hesitant in going back and talking to Louise. He looked back at Finlay. "Do you think I was too harsh on her?" He asked innocently, almost pouting.

Unexpectedly for him, the smaller boy quickly closed the book and looked at him with an expression that implied sarcasm very clearly. As if saying _'What do you think, idiot?'_

"Right… I- I knew that…" And continued on his way back awkwardly.

Maybe he was too harsh on her. Maybe he should try to understand her situation and be _more_ tolerant. But he still couldn't accept the idea of ignoring her arrogant behavior.

It was definitely a no-no.

But the guilty feeling he had, that came along with knowing that she acted like that because he took her from her home so harshly, it didn't sit well with him, and he did his best to ignore it. There was no way back after all. No reason to think about it, right? '_I only need to get her to understand her place. And it will be fine. She'll be just like family…' _And that's all he needed at the moment.

* * *

**Aw god, I feel like they can't get along just yet! **

**Anyway, terrible I think. I'm really sleepy, can't concentrate on editing, but I want to post it! So I thank my Beta, ChaosxPaladin, really helping more than you can imagine! :D **

**Still, forgive me for taking so long, and not even compensating for it! Real life likes to piss me off. So review, fave or whatever, I really do appreciate it! :3**


End file.
